Monthly Archives: March 2012

Being selected as a cash mob location was an priceless opportunity for Cornucopia, Inc., the non-profit that runs Nature’s Bin in Lakewood. Not only did we have sales in the range of $9,000 during the cash mob, the publicity for our store and our mission to help people with disabilities gain skills and develop workplace potential was invaluable. The event had a playoff game feel and did it ever deliver with big game excitement and heroics. It not only was a way to showcase our store and the organization to the “mob” itself, but the rest of the community through various media outlets. The cash mob also provided a rallying point for the staff and board members. With a recent national competitor coming into town, our focus had been on being reactive rather than proactive. The cash mob made us all once again realize that we have a great story to tell, which anyone can relate to, and that it is our story that separates us from the competition. The cash mob allowed us to tell our story at a whole new level and to an entirely new audience. The cash mob will go down in history as one of our biggest events and far exceeded any of our expectations.

UPDATE: over 300 Cleveland Cash Mobbers spent $9,000 in three hours at Nature’s Bin. This was by far our most successful mob yet!!!

Here are some photos that Summer Jo Shepherd took of the Cleveland Cash Mob held at Nature’s Bin on March 24 (aka International Cash Mob Day). We’re waiting on final numbers, but it looks like the mob had more than 120 people and put more than $7,000 into the business in a couple of hours.

If you have any pictures of YOUR mob, leave a link to them in the comments!

FOR THE MEDIA: please email Summer directly if you would like high resolution versions of any of these photos. (She’s incredibly nice and a real joy to work with.)

Well folks, today’s the day – International Cash Mobs Day!!! Words on a blog can’t express the excitement and gratitude that we’re feeling for everyone who is organizing or joining a mob today. If there’s a mob near you, we hope you’ll join it; if not, we hope you will start a one-person or two-people mini mob, which would probably be really fun. Either way, the rules for today are the same:

People have been asking me recently where I see Cash Mobs going. I’ve never been a good judge of how successful this movement was going to be – at our first mob, we wanted just one person who we didn’t know to show up, and that was how we were going to judge our success. We never, ever could have predicted that things would take off like this. This whole ride has been thrilling and crazy and incredible, and we’re incredibly thankful for it.

I did have a few thoughts thought today, though. First, I hop all of these Cash Mobs help reorient consumer buying behavior toward locally-owned stores. There are all sorts of economic benefits to buying local, so I won’t expand on that here.

Second, it has been incredible to see people taking responsibility for their communities. It has been especially rewarding to get emails from people who have never held any sort of leadership role or participated in any community organization but who want to organize Cash Mobs, and, over the course of just a few days, to hear about their success and growing sense of confidence and accomplishment. I really hope that the organizers take more active roles in their communities – continuing to organize, to speak, to build a sense of camaraderie – even, perhaps, running for elected office. It has also been exciting to hear of people meeting at Cash Mobs and becoming friends, or business partners, or even going on dates. The second rule at a Cash Mob – to meet three new people – is proving extremely successful at forming face-to-face networks inside communities.

Third, I hope that people have fun at these – that they remember that they can give up control once in a while, that they can relax, that they don’t have to keep a tight grip on their time and their lives. I hope we’re introducing people to new stores, neighborhoods and communities that they didn’t know existed in their cities. And I hope they are coming out of this with an increasing sense of the amazing diversity of people and places where they live.

John Reburn, in Roanoke, Virginia, owns a letterpress and silk-screening shop called Appalachia Press. He was hit by a Cash Mob on Wednesday. Arizona Central interviewed him and he had a great quote about what a Cash Mob can do for a local business:

“We did the equivalent of a Christmas shopping day in 45 minutes.”

This is the kind of amazing thing that can happen for local businesses when community members stand up and decide that they’re going to take responsibility for the health and vibrancy of their community. The Roanoke organizers deserve a hearty round of applause – great job Virginia!

As I count it, we’re now at 197 Cash Mobs around the world. I’m fully confident that, in the next two days, we will have met our goal of 200 Cash Mobs around the world in time for International Cash Mob Day on March 24. If you’ve been thinking about starting a Cash Mob but weren’t sure about it, NOW IS THE TIME. Join us in rebuilding communities and supporting local businesses – trust us, you’ll be glad you did!

Building upon the success of its first Cash Mob, Downtown Mount Clemens is joining over 170 other cities world-wide supporting their local businesses by hosting a Cash Mob on National Cash Mob Day, Saturday March 24th.

Gemini Moon, a metaphysical and spiritual store, is the focus of Mount Clemens’ second Cash Mob. The After Mob get-together will be held at Madison’s Pub. The goal is to build upon the overwhelming success of the first Cash Mob

On Saturday March 3rd, Tis County was the focus of Mount Clemens first Cash Mob. They saw an over 600% increase in transactions from the previous weekend, over doubling of the recommended purchase of $10 in goods, and over 135 visitors.

Shoppers also came in the day before and the days following the Cash Mob to show their support for Tis Country too. One Cash Mobber came all the way from Marine City, MI, over 25 miles away!

The After Mob at Detroit Pub saw a doubling their Saturday afternoon sales! A goal for the After Mob was to assist mobbers in getting to know other shoptivists while supporting a second independent business.

The first Cash Mobs sprung up in Buffalo and Cleveland around the same time last fall. The organizer’s intent was to provide a financial and morale boost to a local business owner while giving the Mobbers the opportunity to meet new people during the events.

Rapid growth of this activist approach to supporting local business is evidenced by the fact that 170 Cash Mobs are already scheduled for National Cash Mob Day.

Gemini Moon is the targeted location for Mount Clemens’ second Cash Mob. Each participant is asked to spend at least ten dollars ($10) at Gemini Moon during the mob’s three hour event.

Think of the Cash Mob as a “shop local” flash mob created to spur local economic stimulus! The ten dollars demonstrates personal commitment and effort to support a local independent retailer while having fun doing it as a part of a larger group.

Gemini Moon has a wide array of cool items including jewelry, gemstones, incense, crystals, candles, and spiritual artwork. They also offer a variety of spiritual and religious items for all faiths, religions, beliefs, and ways of life.

To top it all off, Gemini Moon has a wide range of Renaissance Festival clothing too. They also offer a variety of classes and readings.

Once the Mobbers have finished their shopping, they are encouraged to walk around the corner to meet up with fellow Mobbers at Madison’s Pub. A second and equally important component of the Cash Mob is for the attendees to meet new people.

Gemini Moon is located at 61 Macomb Place. Their telephone number is 586.222.2836. Madison’s Pub is located at 15 Walnut Street, 586.468.7777.